The manor was quiet, quiet enough that the faint crackle of a distant hearth carried through its halls.
Kael stood in the shadows of a vast corridor, his posture casual, though his eyes remained sharp and watchful. He had long since learned how to blend into places like this—grand, opulent homes of nobility who fancied themselves untouchable.
Tonight, that skill would be tested again.
In his hands, he carried a stack of ledgers, carefully forged replicas of the Church's records for its informants among the noble houses.
The true documents sat secured in Aric's study, won through weeks of painstaking work by Maxim and his network.
These decoys had a single purpose: to sow confusion within the Church's ranks while Kael quietly turned their allies into Aric's.
A light scuff of footsteps pulled him from his thoughts. From the far end of the corridor, Hitoshi approached, his gait slow but intentfull.
